STATE OF GUJARAT AND ANR.versusGUJARAT REVENUE TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCIATION AND ANR.

                      [2012] 10 S.C.R. 816


A                STATE OF GUJARAT AND ANR.
                                 v.
    GU.JARAT REVENUE TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCIATION AND
                             ANR.
               (Civil Appeal No. 7208 of 2012)
B
                       OCTOBER 16, 2012

         [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN AND FAKKIR MOHAMED
                   IBRAHIM KALIFL:LLA, JJ.]

C      Tribunal - Gujarat Revenue Tribunal - Appointment of
  President - Held: Gujarat Revenue Tribunal is akin to a court
  and performs similar functions - Consequently, consultation/
  concurrence of tfie High Court required in appointment of the
  President of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal - The consultation
D must be conscious, effective, meaningful and purposeful and
  not empty formality - Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957
  - s.3(2) - Gujarat Revenue Tribunal Rules, 1982- r.3(1)(iii)(a)
  - Constitution of India, 1950 - Article 234.

E       Tribunal - Creation of - Purpose - Tests to determine
    whether a tribunal is a court or not - Discussed.

        Words and Phrases - "court" and "tribunal" - Meaning of
    - Held: The terms 'court' and 'tribunal' are not inter-
    changeable.
F
        Words and Phrases - "judicial office" - Meaning of.

      The State Government of Gujarat, in exercise of its
  powers under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957
G and the Gujarat· Revenue Tribunal Rules, 1982 appointed
  appellant no.2 as the President of the Gujarat Revenue
  Tribunal. The respondents filed a writ petition challenging
  the appointment on the ground that the office concerned,
  being a "judicial office" could not be usurped by

H                               816
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                  817
           TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN.
appellant no.2, who had been an Administrative officer all      A
his life. The High Court allowed the writ petition and
struck down Rule 3(1 )(iii)(a) of the Gujarat Revenue
Tribunal Rules 1982, which conferred upon the State
Government the power to appoint the Secretary to the
Government of Gujarat, as the President of the Revenue          B
Tribunal constituted under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal
Act, 1957. The High Court held that the Revenue Tribunal
was in the strict sense, a "court" and the President, who
presided over such Tribunal could therefore, only be a
"Judicial Officer", a District Judge etc., for which            c
concurrence of the High Court was necessary under
Article 234 of the Constitution. Hence the instant appeal.

    Dismissing the appeal, the Court

     HELD: 1.1. Although, the term 'court' has not been         D
defined under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957,
it is indisputable that courts belong to the judicial
hierarchy and constitute the country's judiciary, as
distinct from the executive or legislative branches of the
State. Judicial functions involve the decision of rights and    E
liabilities of the parties. An enquiry and investigation into
facts is a material part of the judicial function. The
legislature, in its wisdom has created tribunals and
transferred the work which was regularly done by the civil
courts to them, as it was found necessary to do so in           F
order to provide efficacious remedy and also to reduce
the burden on the civil courts and further, also to save
the aggrieved person from bearing the burden of heavy
court fees etc. Thus, the system of tribunals was created
as a machinery for the speedy disposal of claims arising        G
under a particular Statute/Act. Most of the Tribunals have
been given the power to lay down their own procedure.
In some cases, the procedure may be adopted by the
Tribunal and the same may require the approval of the
competent authority/government. However, in each case,
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   818      SUPREME COURT REPORTS              [2012] 10 S.C.R.

A the principles of natural justice are required to be
  observed. Such tribunals therefore, basically perform
  quasi-judicial functions. The system of tribunals is hence,
  unlike that of the regularly constituted courts under the
  hierarchy of the judicial system, which are not authorised
B to devise their own procedure for dealing with cases.
  Under certain statutes, 'T'ribunals have been authorised
  to exercise certain powers conferred under certain
  provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure or the Code of
  Criminal Procedure, but not under the whole Code, be it
C Civil or Criminal. However, hi a regular court, the said
  Codes, in their entirety, civil as well as criminal, must be
  strictly adhered to. Therefore, the terms 'court' and
  'Tribunal' are not inter-changeable. [Para 9] [834-A-G]

       1.2. A Tribunal may not necessarily be a court, inspite
D of the fact that it may be presided over by a judicial officer,
  as other qualified persons may also possibly be
  appointed to perform such duty. One of the tests to
  determine whether a tribunal is a court or not, is to check
  whether the High Court has revisional jurisdiction so far
E as the judgments and orders passed by the Tribunal are
  concerned. Supervisory or revisional jurisdiction is
  considered to be a power vesting in a superior court or
  Tribunal, enabling it to satisfy itself as regards the
  correctness of the orders of the inferior Tribunal. This is
F the basic difference between appellate and supervisory
  jurisdiction. Appellate jurisdiction confers a right upon
  the a~grieved person to make a complaint in the
  prescribed manner, to a higher forum whereas,
  supervisory/revisional power has a different object and
G purpose altogether as it confers the right and
  responsibility upon the higher forum to keep the
  subordinate Tribunals within the limits of the law. It is for
  this reason that revisional power can be exercised by the
  competent authority/court suo motu, in order to see that
H subordinate Tribunals do not transgress the rules of law
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                  819
           TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN.
and are kept within the framework of powers conferred           A
upon them. Such revisional powers have to be exercised
sparingly, only as a discretion in order to prevent gross
injustice and the same cannot be claimed, as a matter of
rtght by any party. Even if the person heading the
Tribunal is otherwise a "judicial officer", .he, may merely     B
be persona designata, but not a ~ourt, despite the fact that
he is expected to act in a quasi-judicial manner. In the
generic sense, a court is also a Tribunal. However, courts
are only such Tribunals as have been created by the
concerned statute and belong to the judicial department         c
of the State as opposed to the executive branch of the
said State. The expression 'court' is understood in the
context of its normally accepted connotation, as an
adjudicating body, which performs the judfcial functions
of rendering definitive judgments having a sense of             0
finality and authoritativeness to bind the parties litigating
before it. Secondly, it must be in the course of exercise
of the sovereign judicial__power transferred to it by the
State. Any Tribunal or acrthority therefore, that possesses
these attributes, may be categorized as a court. [Para 9]
                                                                E
[834-H; 835-A-H]

     1.3. Tribunals have primarily been constituted to deal
with cases under special laws, and to hence provide for
specialised adjudication alongside the courts. Therefore,
a particular Act/set of .Rules will determine whether the F
functions of a particular Tribunal are akin to those of the
courts, which provide for the basic administration of
justice. Where there is a Us between two' contesting
parties and a statutory authority is required to decide
such dispute between them, such an authority may be G
called as a quasi-judicial authority, i.e., a situation where,
(a) a statutory authority is empowered under a statute to
do any act (b) the order of such auttiority would
adversely affect the subject and (c) although there is no
tis or two contending parties, and the contest is between H
    820     SUPREME COURT REPORTS              (2012] 10 S.C.R.

A the authority and the subject and (d) the statutory
  authority is required to act judicially under the statute, the
  decision of the said authority is a quasi judicial decision.
  An authority may be described as a quasi-judicial
  authority when it possesses certain attributes or
B trappings of a 'court', but not all. In case certain powers
  under C.P.C. or Cr.P.C. have been conferred upon an
  authority, but it has not been entrusted with the judicial
  powers of the State, it cannot be held to be a court. [Para
  1O] [836-A-E]
c      The Bharat Bank Ltd., Delhi v. The Employees of Bharat
  Bank & Anr. AIR 1950 SC 188: 1950 SCR 459; Virindar
  Kumar Satyawadi v. The State of Punjab, AIR 1956 SC 153:
  1955 SCR 1013; Engineering Mazdoor Sabha & Anr. v. Hind
  Cycles Ltd. AIR 1963 SC 874: 1963 Suppl. SCR 625;
D Associated Cement Companies Ltd. v. P.N. Sharma & Anr.
  AIR 1965 SC 1595: 1965 SCR 366; Ramrao & Anr. v.
  Narayan & Anr. AIR 1969 SC 724: 1969 (3) SCR 185; State
  of Himachal Pradesh & Ors. v. Raja Mahendra Pal & Anr. AIR
  1999 SC 1786: 1999 (2) SCR 323; Keshab Narayan
E Banerjee v. State of Bihar & Ors. AIR 2000 SC 485: 1999 (5)
  Suppl. SCR 394; Indian National Congress (/) v. Institute of
  Social Welfare & Ors. AIR 2002 SC 2158: 2002 (3) SCR
  1040; K. Shamrao & Ors. v. Assistant Charity Commissioner
  (2003) 3 SCC 563: 2003 (2) SCR 523; Trans Mediterranean
F Airways v. Universal Exports (2011) 10 SCC 316: 2011 (14)
  SCR 47; Namit Sharma v. Union of India JT 2012 (9) SC 166
  and Harinagar Sugar Mills Ltd. v. Shyam Sundar Jhunjunwala
  & Ors. AIR 1961 SC 1669: 1962 SCR 339 - relied on.

G       Shell Co. of Australia v. Federal Commissioner of
    Taxation (1931) A.C. 275 - referred to.

         2.1. The present case is also required to be examined
    in the context of Article 227 of the Constitution of India,
    with specific reference to the 42nd Constitutional
H
     STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                  821
            TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN.
 Amendment Act 1976, where the expression 'court' stood A
 by itself, and not in juxtaposition with the other
 expression used therein, namely, 'Tribunal'. The power of
 the High Court of judicial superintendence over the
Tribunals, under the amended Article 227 stood
obliterated. By way of the amendment in the sub-article, B
the words, "and Tribunals" stood deleted, and the words
"subject to its appellate jurisdiction" have been
substituted, after the words, "all courts". In other words,
this amendment purports to take away the High Court's
power of superintendence over Tribunals. Moreover, the c
High Court's power has been restricted to have judicial
superintendence only over the judgments of inferior
courts, i.e. judgments in cases where against the same,
appeal or revision lies with the High Court. A question
does arise as regards whether the expression 'courts' as
                                                             0
it appears in the amended Article 227, is confined only to
the regular civil or criminal courts that have been
constituted under the hierarchy of courts and whether all
Tribunals have in fact been excluded from the purview of
the High Court's superintendence. Undoubtedly, all
courts are Tribunals but all Tribunals are not courts. [Para E
12) [838-C-G]

      2.2. The High Court's power of judicial
superintendence, even under the amended provisions of
Article 227 is applicable, provided that two conditions are      F
fulfilled; firstly, that such Tribunal, body or authority must
perform judicial functions of rendering definitive
judgments having finality, which bind the parties in
respect of their rights, in the exercise of the sovereign
judicial power transferred to it by the State, and secondly,     G
that such Tribunal, body or authority must be subject to
the High Court's appellate or revisional jurisdiction. [Para
13) [838-H; 839-A-B]

    3. A person holds 'judicial office' if he is performing
                                                                 H
    822    SUPREME COURT REPORTS             [2012) 10 S.C.R.


A judicial functions. The scheme of Chapters V and VI of
  the Constitution deal with judicial office and judicial
  service. The expression, 'judicial office' in the generic
  sense, may include a wide variety of offices which are
  connected with the administration of justice in one way
8 or another. The holder of a judicial office under Article
  217(2)(a), means a person who exercises only judicial
  functions, determines cases inter-se parties, and renders
  decisions in purely judicial capacity. 'Judicial office'
   means a subsisting office with a substantive position,
C which has an existence independence from its holder.
   [Paras 18, 19] [840-E-F; 841-A-C]

        Statesman (Private) Ltd. v. H.R. Deb & Ors. AIR 1968 SC
    1495: 1968 SCR 614 - followed.

D       Shri Kumar Padma Prasad v. Union of India & Ors.
    (1992) 2 sec 428: 1992 (2) SCR 109 - relied on.

       S.P. Sampath Kumar v. Union of India AIR 1987 SC
  346; L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India & Ors. AIR 1997
E SC 1125: 1997 (2) SCR 1186; V.K. Majotra & Ors. v. Union
  of India & Ors. AIR 2003 SC 3909: 2003 (3) Suppl. SCR 483
  - referred to.

       4.1. Upon an examination of the functions and
  powers of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal, it is crystal clear
F that the Tribunal does not deal only with revenue matters
  as provided under the Schedule I of the Bombay
  Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957, but has also been conferred
  appellate/revisional powers under various other statutes.
  Most of those statutes provide that the Gujarat Revenue
G Tribunal, while dealing with appeals, references,
  revisions, would act giving strict adherence to the
  procedure prescribed in the CPC, for deciding a matter
  as followed by the Civil Court and certain powers have
  also been conferred upon it, as provided in the Cr.P.C.
H
     STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                823
            TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN.
  and IPC. The Gujarat Revenue Tribunal has been               A
 conferred the power to adjudicate disputes, which may
 arise from the provisions of the Bombay Tenancy and
 Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. Section 75(1) of the said Act
 provides that an appeal against the award of the Collector,
 made under Section 66 may be filed before the Tribunal.       B
 Sub-section (2) of Section 75 provides, that in deciding
 appeals preferred under sub-section (1), the Tribunal shall
 exercise all the powers which a court has and subject to
 the regulations framed by the Tribunal under the Act 1957,
 follow the same procedure which a court follows, in           c
 deciding appeals from the decree or order of an original
court under the CPC. Section ?80 of the Act provides that
all inquiries and proceedings before the Tribunal shall be
deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of
Sections 193, 219 and 228 of the IPC. The Gujarat              0
Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act, 1960, was enacted to fix
a ceiling on holdings of agricultural lands, and to provide
for the acquisition and disposal of surplus agricultural
lands. Chapter VI of the said Act deals with procedure,
appeals and revision. Section 36 provides that any             E
person aggrieved by an award made by the Tribunal
under Section 24, or by the Collector under Section 28,
may appeal to the Tribunal. Sub-section (3) of S~ction 36
provides that in deciding such appeal the Tribunal shall
exercise all the powers which a Court has, and must
follow the same procedure which the Court follows in           F
deciding appeals from the decree or order of the original
court under the CPC. Section 48 provides that all inquiries
and proceedings before the Tribunal shall be deemed to
be 'judicial proceedings', within the meaning of Sections
193, 219 and 228 of the IPC. The Bombay Public Trust Act,      G
1950, has been enacted to regulate, and to make better
provision for the administration of public religious and
charitable trusts in the State of Bombay, which also
extends to the State of Gujarat. Section 74 of the Act
                                                               H
   824     SUPREME COURT ~EPORTS            [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A provides that all inquiries and appeals shall be deemed
  to be judicial proceedings within the meaning of Sections
  193, 219 and 228 of the IPC. Section 76 provides that,
  save, in so far as they may be inconsistent with anything
  contained in the Act, the provisions of the CPC will apply
B to all proceedings before the court under this Act. Section
  13(1) of the Act, 1957, provides that in exercising the
  jurisdiction conferred upon the Tribunal, the Tribunal
  shall have all the powers of a civil court as enumerated
  therein and shall be deemed to be a civil court for the
c purposes of Sections 195, 480 and 482 of the Cr.P.C., and
  that its proceedings shall be deemed to be judicial
   proceedings, within the meaning of Sections 193, 219 and
   228 of the IPC. Thus, the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal is akin
   to a court and performs similar functions. [Paras 23, 24,
D 25, 26 and 27] [843-8-H; 844-A-E; 845-A-G]

      4.2. The High Court has supervisory control over the
  Gujarat Revenue Tribunal, to the extent that it can revise
  and correct the judgments and orders passed by it. In
  such a fact-situation, the consultation/concurrence of the
E High Court, in the matter of making the appointment of
  the President of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal is required.
  [Para 27]- [846-A-B]

       4.3. The object of consultation is to render the
F consultation meaningful to serve the intended purpose.
  It requires the meeting of minds between the parties
  involved in the process of consultation on the basis of
  material facts and points, to evolve a correct or at least
  satisfactory solution. If a power can be exercised only
G after consultation, such consultation must be conscious,
  effective, meaningful and purposeful. It means that the
  party must disclose all the facts to other party for due
  deliberation. The consultee must express his opinion
  afte.r full consideration of the matter upon the relevant
  facts and quintessence. Evidently the procedure to be
H
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE               825
           TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN.
observed under Article 234 of the Constitution goes to the   A
extent of the true meaning of consultative process and
not an empty formality. [Paras 28, 29) (846-C-D; G]

     UO/ v. Sankalchand Himatla/ Sheth AIR 1977 SC 2328:
1978 (1) SCR 423; Subhash Sharma & Ors. v. UOI AIR 1991
                                                             B
SC 631: 1990 (2) Suppl. SCR 433; Justice K.P Mohapatra
v. Sri Ram Chandra Nayak and Ors. (2002) 8 SCC 1: 2002
(3) Suppl. SCR 166; Gauhati High Court & Anr. v. Ku/adhar
Phukan & Anr. AIR 2002 SC 1589: 2002 (2) SCR 808; High
Court of Judicature for Rajasthan v. P.P Singh AIR 2003 SC
1029: 2003 (1) SCR 593; UOI v. Kali Dass Batish, AIR 2006
                                                             c
SC 789 and Andhra Bank v. Andhra Bank Officers AIR 2008
SC 2936: 2008 (7) SCC 203 - relied on.

                    Case Law Reference:
                                                             D
   1950 SCR 459              relied on          Para 10
   1955 SCR 1013             relied on          Para 10
   1963 Suppl. SCR 625       relied on          Para 10
   1965 SCR 366              relied on          Para 10      E

   1969 (3) SCR 185          relied on          Para 10
   1999 (2) SCR 323          relied on          Para 10
   1999 (5) Suppl. SCR 394 relied on            Para 10
                                                             F
   2002 (3) SCR 1040         relied on          Para 10
   2003 (2) SCR 523          relied on          Para 10
   2011 (14) SCR 47          relied on          Para 10
                                                             G
  JT 2012 (9) SC 166         relied on          Para 10
  1962 SCR 339               relied on         Para 11
  (1931) A.C. 275            referred to       Para 13
                                                             H
    826      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A     AIR 1987 SC 346             referred to             Para 14
                                   f"ln".,
      1997 (2) SCR 11.86          referred to             Para 15

      2003 (3) Suppl. SCR 483 referred to                 Para 16

      1968 SCR 614                 followed               Paras 17-
B
                                                                18

      1992 (2) SCR 109             relied on              Para 19

     · 1978 (1) SCR 423            relied on              Para 28

c     1990 (2) Suppl. SCR 433 relied on                   Para 28

      2002 (3) Suppl. SCR 16E> relied on                  Para 28

       2002 (2) SCR 808            relied on              Para 28

       2003 (1) SCR 593            relied on              Para 28
D
      AIR 2006 SC 789              relied on              Para 28

       2ooa (7) sec 203            relied on              Para 28
                                               -
        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No.
E   7208 of 2012.

        From the Judgment and Order dated 14.09.2009 of the
    High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Special Civil
    Application No. 8209 of 1988.
F
        Preetesh Kapur, Hemantika Wahi, S. Panda for the
    Appellants.

        Yashank Adhyaru, Laxmi Abhichandani, Vimal Chandra S.
    Dave for the Respondents.                            :.
G
          The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

      DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J. 1. This appeal has been preferred
  against the impugned judgment and order dated 14.9.2009,
H passed by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Special
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE       827
  TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
Civil Application No.8209 of 1988, by way of which the High          A
Court has allowed the writ petition filed by the respondents
striking down Rule 3(1)(iii)(a) of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal
Rules 1982 (hereinafter referred to as 'Rules 1982'), which
conferred power upon the State Government to appoint the
Secretary to the Government of Gujarat, as President of the          B
Revenue Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as 'Tribunal')
constituted under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957
(hereinafter referred to as the 'Act, 1957').

    2. The facts and circumstances giving rise to this appeal        C
are mentioned hereunder:

      A The Government of Gujarat, in exercise of its power
under the Act of 1957 and the Rules, 1982 appointed appellant
no.2 as the President of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal vide order
dated 16.4.1988. His appointment was challenged by the               D
respondents herein, on the ground that the office of the
Chairman, being a "judicial office" could not be usurped by a
person who had been an Administrative Officer all his life. The
validity of Sections 4 and 20 of the Act 1957 and Rule
3(1 )(iii)(a) of the Rules 1982 was challenged. The appellants       E
contested the writ petition, submitting that in exercise of the
power conferred under Section 20 of the Act 1957 and the
Rules 1982, a notification was issued on 8.2.1983, making the
Secretary to the Government eligible for appointment as
Chairman of the Revenue Tribunal, and as he had acted as a           F
Revenue Officer while holding the posts of Sub Divisional
Officer, District Collector, and Divisional Commissioner, it could
not be held that he was ineligible to hold the said post of
President of the Tribunal.

     B. During the pendency of the aforementioned writ petition      G
before the High Court, the Government of Gujarat made the
appointment of Shri A.O. Desai, a retired I.AS. Officer on
27.2.2007 to the post of President of the Tribunal, however, the
operation of his appointment order was stayed by the High
Court. This Court, while entertaining Special Leave Petition (C)     H
    828      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                (2012] 10 S.C.R.


A No.4924 of 2007, vide order dated 26.3.2007, stayed the
  operation of the order of the High Court. The said S.L.P. was
  finally disposed of vide order dated 16.4.2008 observing that,
  the petition had been filed only against the interim order passed
  by the High Court. However, the said interim order dated
B 26.3.2007 passed by this Court, by which it stayed the order
  of the High Court, as mentioned earlier, would continue till the
  disposal of the Special Civil Application No.8209 of 1988 by
  the Gujarat High Court. Subsequently, State of Gujarat vide
  order dated 29.7.2009, appointed Mr. A.J. Shukla as the
c President of the Tribunal.
       C. The High Court then, vide impugned judgment and
  order dated 14.9.2009 held that the Tribunal was in the strict
  sense, a "court" and that the President, who presides over such
  Tribunal could therefore, only be a "Judicial Officer", a District
D Judge etc., for which, concurrence of the High Court is
  recessary under Article 234 of the Constitution of India. Hence,
  the present appeal.

         3. Shri Preetesh Kapur, learned counsel appearing on
E   behalf of the appellants, submitted that the High Court
    committed an error by striking down the aforesaid rule, holding
    that the Secretary to the Government of Gujarat cannot be
    appointed as President of the Tribunal. It erred in holding that
    the Tribunal was a court and only a "Judicial Officer", i.e., a
F   Judicial Officer holding such equivalent post as is referred to
    in Rule 3(iii) of the Rules 1982 can be appointed as President
    of the said Tribunal. The Secretary to the Government had
    already worked as a Revenue Officer for a prolonged period
    of time and, hence, has acquired the requisite experience to
G   deal with all types of revenue matters, in spite of the fact that
    the Tribunal has the trappings of a court, he is eligible for the
    said post in terms of qualifications. An Administrative Officer,
    who is a member of the Tribunal under Rule 3(1)(iii)(g) can still
    be appointed as the President of the Tribunal as the validity of
H   clause (g) was not under challenge. But on that count there will
   STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                          829
 TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
be no illegality. The Tribunal cannot be held to be a 'court' within   A
the meaning of the Constitutional provisions. The Act 1957 and
Rules 1982, do not even suggest consultation with the High
Court, while appointing the President of the Tribunal. Thereft>re,
the appeal deserves to be allowed.
                                                                       B
      4. On the contrary, Shri Yashank Pravin Adhyaru, learned
 Senior counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents has
 vehemently opposed the appeal contending that, no error can
 be found with the impugned judgment and order of the High
 Court. This is because the earlier Acts, which stood repealed
by the Act of 1957, did not contain any provision enabling the         C
State Government to appoint an Administrative Officer as the
 President of the Tribunal. Under the old Act, the person who is
eligible to hold such post was a retired Judge of the High Court.
Moreover, Rule 3(iii) of the Rules 1982 enables the State
Government to appoint a Judicial Officer, a District Judge, the        D
President of the Court of Small Causes, Bombay and the
Principal Judge of the City Civil Court to the aforementioned
post. In case they are still in service, the question of their
appointment as President of the Revenue Tribunal, would never
arise, without the effective consultation/concurrence of the High      E
Court. The provisions of Articles 233 to 236 of the Constitution
of India are attracted. In fact, this is the ratio of the impugned
judgment. In the facts and circumstances of the case, no
interference is warranted. The appeal lacks merit and is liable
to be dismissed.                                                       F

     5. We have considered the rival submissions made by
learned counsel for the parties and perused the record.

     6. The High Court itself has taken note of the previous
statutory provisions, observing that the Bombay Revenue                G
Tribunal Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to the 'Act 1939'), did
not provide for the post of President as such, and that this
power was conferred upon the rule making authority. Rule 4(1)
of the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Rules 1939, (hereinafter
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    830      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A   referred to 'Rules 1939') prescribed the qualifications for the
    post of President, as a person who has officiated as a Judge
    of the High Court, or has served as such, or has exercised the
    powers of, a District Judge, or the Chief Judge of the Court of
    Small Causes, Bombay, for a period of not less than 10 years
s   and has retired from service of the Crown in India.

       7. In the year 1941, Rule 4(1) of the Rules 1939 was
  amended vide Notifications dated 5.12.1940 and 22.9.1941.
  As per the amended Rules, the President could be a person
C who had either officiated as a Judge of the High Court, or had
  served as, or exercised the powers of a District Judge, or of
  the Chief Judge of the Court of Small Causes, Bombay, for a
  period of not less than 10 years, and had retired from the service
  of the Government of India or the Government of any State. In
  1957, Rule 4(1) was substituted, enabling the rule making
D authority, inter-alia, to appoint the Secretary to the Government
  of Bombay, Legal Department and the Legal Remembrancer
  of Legal Affairs as President of the Tribunal. Later, the Act of
  1939 was substituted by the Act, 1957.

E Relevant Statutory Provisions :

         8. Section 3(2) of the Act 1957, provides for the
    appointment of the President and Members of the Tribunal.
    Section 9 thereof, provides for the jurisdiction of the Tribunal
F   to entertain and decide appeals from, and revise decisions and
    orders in respect of cases arising under the provisions of the
    enac.iments specified in the First Schedule. Schedule 1 includes
    the Bombay Land Revenue Code, 1879, the Bombay Land
    Revenue Code, 1874 as extended to the Kutch area of State
    of Bombay, the Indian Forest Act, 1927 etc.
G
          Section 9(4) of the Act reads as under:

          "Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the
          time being in force, when the Tribunal has jurisdiction to
          entertain and decide appeals from and revise decisions
H
   STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                        831.
 TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
     and orders of, any person, officer or authority to any matter   A
     aforesaid, no other person, officer or authority shall have
     jurisdiction to entertain and decide appeals from and
     revise decisions or orders of such person, officer or
     authority in that matter."
                                                                     B
     Section 13(1) of the Act reads as under:

     "In exercising the jurisdiction conferred upon it by or under
     this Act, the Tribunal shall have all the powers of a Civil
     Court for the purpose of taking evidence on oath,
     affirmation or affidavit, of summoning and enforcing the        C
     attendance of witnesses, of compelling discovery and the
     production of documents and material objects,
     requisitioning any public record or any copy thereof from
     ::1ny Court or office, issuing commissions for the
     examination of witnesses or documents, and for such other       D
     purposes as may be prescribed and the Tribunal shall be
     deemed to be a Civil Court for all the purposes of sections
     195, 480 and 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
     1898, and its proceedings shall be deemed to be judicial
     proceedings within the meaning of sections 193, 219 and         E
     229 of the Indian Penal Code."

     Section 15 empowers the Tribunal to entertain question of
interpretation regarding laws of public importance which can
only be decided after hearing the State Government on the
                                                                     F
matter. Section 16 provides that no appeal shall lie to the State
Government against the order passed by the Tribunal. Section
17 of the Act confers upon the Tribunal the power to review its
own decision, on grounds similar to the ones mentioned in
Order 47 Rule 1 CPC. Such review application may be filed
before it within a period of 90 days from the date of the said       G
decision of the Tribunal. The Tribunal has further been given the
power to condone delay in making applications for review.

    Section 20 reads as under:
                                                                     H
    832       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                  [2012] 10 S.C.R.

A         "20(1) The State Government may, by notification in the
          Official Gazette, make rules consistent with the provisions
          of this Act for carrying into effect the purposes of this Act.

          (2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of
          the foregoing provision, such rules may provide for the
B
          following matters, namely:-

          (a) the qualifications of the President and other
          members of the Tribunal;

c         (b) the period of office and the terms and conditions of
          service of the President and other members of the
          Tribunal;

          (c) the qualifications of the Registrar and Deputy
          Registrars;
D
          (d) any other powers of a Civil Court which may be vested
          in the Tribunal."

                                                   (Emphasis added)
E         Rule 3 of the Rules 1982 reads as under :

          "3. Qualification of President and members of
          Tribunal-

F         (1) The President shall be a person who has not attained
          the age of 65 years, and

          (i) Who is or has been a judge of a High Court, or

          (ii)Who is an advocate qualified to be a judge of a High
G         Court, or

          (iii) Who has, for a period of not less than three years, held
          the office, or as the case may be, exercised the powers
          of-

H         (a) The Secretary to the Government of Gujarat;
   STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                       833
 TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
    (b) The Principal Judge of the City Civil Court,                A
    Ahmedabad;

    (c) A District Judge;

    (d) The Chief Judge, Small Cause Court, Ahmedabad;
                                                                    B
    (e) A member of the Industrial Court constituted under the
    Bombay Industrial Relations Act, 1946;

    (f) A member of the Industrial Tribunal constituted under the
    Industrial Disputes Act, 1957; or
                                                                    c
    (g) A member of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal constituted
    under the Bombay Revenue Tribunal Act, 1957."
    (Emphasis added)

(2) A member shall be a person who has not attained the age         D
of 65 years and-

    (a) Who is holding or has held an office not lower in rank
    than that of -

    (i) A Collector;                                                E

    (ii) A Deputy Secretary to the Government of Gujarat;

    (iii) A District Judge;

    (iv) An Assistant Judge, or a Civil Judge (Senior Division)     F
    appointed under the Bombay Civil Courts Act, 1869, or a
    Civil Judge holding an equivalent office under any other law
    for the time being in force; or

    (b) Who is an advocate or attorney of the High Court, or a      G
    legal practitioner entitled to practice before courts other
    than the High Court under any law relating to legal
    practitioners for the time being in force in this State, has
    practiced for not less than five years in any Civil Courts or
                                                                    H
    834      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2012) 10 S.C.R.


A         before the Tribunal, and is, in the opinion of the State
          Government, well versed in revenue and tenancy laws.•

          9. Although, term 'court' has not been defined under the
    Act, it is indisputable that courts belong to the judicial hierarchy
    and constitute the country's judiciary as distinct from the
8
    executive or legislative branches of the State. Judicial functions
    involve the decision of rights and liabilities of the parties. An
    enquiry and investigation into facts is a material part of judicial
    function. The legislature, in its wisdom has created tribunals and
    transferred the work which was regularly done by the civil courts
C   to them, as it was found necessary to do so in order to provide
    efficacious remedy and also to reduce the burden on the civil
    courts and further, also to save the aggrieved person from
    bearing the burden of heavy court fees etc. Thus, the system
    of tribunals was created as a machinery for the speedy
D   disposal of claims arising under a particular Statute/Act. Most
    of the Tribunals have been given the power to lay down their
    own procedure. In some cases, the procedure may be adopted
    by the Tribunal and the same may require the approval of the
    competent authority/government. However, in each case, the
E   principles of natural justice are required to be observed. Such
    tribunals therefore, basically perform quasi-judicial functions.
    The system of tribunals is hence, unlike that of the regularly
    constituted courts under the hierarchy of judicial system, which
    are not authorised to devise their own procedure for dealing
F   with cases. Under certain statutes Tribunals have been
    authorised to exercise certain powers conferred under some
    provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure (hereinafter referred
    to as the 'CPC') or the Code of Criminal Procedure (hereinafter
    referred to as the 'Cr.P.C.'), but not under the whole Code, be
G   it Civil or Criminal. However, in a regular court, the said Codes,
    in their entirety, civil as well as criminal, must be strictly adhered
    to. Therefore, from the above, it is evident that the terms 'court'
    and 'Tribunal' are not inter-changeable.

          A Tribunal may not necessarily be a court, in spite of the
H
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE       835
  TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
 fact that it may be presided over by a judicial officer, as other A
 qualified persons may also possibly be appointed to perform
 such duty. One of the tests to determine whether a tribunal is a
 court or not, is to check whether the High Court has revisional
 jurisdiction so far as the judgments and orders passed by the
 Tribunal are concerned. Supervisory or revisional jurisdiction is B
 considered to be a power vesting in any superior court or
 Tribunal, enabling it to satisfy itself as regards the correctness
 of the orders of the inferior Tribunal. This is the basic difference
 between appellate and supervisory jurisdiction. Appellate
jurisdiction confers a right upon the aggrieved person to            c
 complain in the prescribed manner, to a higher forum whereas,
 supervisory/revisional power has a different object and purpose
 altogether as it confers the right and responsibility upon the
 higher forum to keep the subordinate Tribunals within the limits
 of the !aw. It is for this reason that revisional power can be / 0
exercised by the competent authority/court suo motu, in order
to see that subordinate Tribunals do not transgress the rules
of law and are kept within the framework of powers conferred
 upon them. Such revisional powers have to be exercised
sparingly, only as a discretion in order to prevent gross injustice E
and the same cannot be claimed, as a matter of right by any
party. Even if the person heading the Tribunal is otherwise a
"judicial officer", he may merely be persona designata, but not
a court, despite the fact that he is expected to act in a quasi-
judicial manner. In the generic sense, a court is also a Tribunal,
however, courts are only such Tribunals as have been created F
by the concerned statute and belong to the judicial department
of the State as opposed to the executive branch of the said
State. The expression 'court' is understood in the context of its
normally accepted connotation, as an adjudicating body, which
performs judicial functions of rendering definitive judgments G
having a sense of finality and authoritativeness to bind the
parties litigating before it. Secondly, it should be in the course
of exercise of the sovereign judicial power transferred to it by
the State. Any Tribunal or authority therefore, that possesses
these attributes, may be categorized as a court.                      H
    836      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A       10. Tribunals have primarily been constituted to deal with
  cases under special laws and to hence provide for specialised
  adjudication alongside the courts. Therefore, a particular AcU
  set of Rules will determine whether the functions of a particular
  Tribunal are akin to those of the courts, which provide for the
B basic administration of justice. Where there is a lis between
  two contesting parties and a statutory authority is required to
  decide such dispute between them, such an authority may be
  called as a quasi-judicial authority, i.e., a situation where, (a) a
  statutory authority is empowered under a statute to do any act
c (b) the order of such authority would adversely affect the subject
  and (c) although there is no lis or two contending parties, and
  the contest is between the authority and the subject and (d) the
  statutory authority is required to act judicially under the statute,
  the deeision of the said authority is a quasi judicial decision.
  An authority may be described as a quasi-judicial authority
0
  when it possesses certain attributes or trappings of a 'court',
  but not all. In case certain powers under C.P.C. or Cr.P.C. have
  been conferred upon an authority, but it has not been entrusted
  with the judicial powers of the State, it cannot be held to be a
  court.
E
        (See : The Bharat Bank Ltd., Delhi v. The Employees of
  Bharat Bank & Anr., AIR 1950 SC 188; Virindar Kumar
  Satyawadi v. The State of Punjab, AIR 1956 SC 153;
  Engineering Mazdoor Sabha & Anr. v. Hind Cycles Ltd., AIR
F 1963 SC 874; Associated Cement Companies Ltd. v. P.N.
  Sharma & Anr., AIR 1965 SC 1595; Ramrao & Anr. v. Narayan
  & Anr., AIR 1969 SC 724; State of Himachal Pradesh & Ors.
  v. Raja Mahendra Pal & Anr., AIR 1999 SC 1786; Keshab
  Narayan Banerjee v. State of Bihar & Ors., AIR 2000 SC 485;
G Indian National Congress (/) v. Institute of Social Welfare &
  Ors., AIR 2002 SC 2158; K. Shamrao & Ors. v. Assistant
  Charity Commissioner, (2003) 3 SCC 563; Trans
  Mediterranean Airways v. Universal Exports, (2011) 10 SCC
  316 at page 338; and Namit Sharma v. Union of India, JT
H 2012 (9) SC 166).
   STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                        837
 TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
    11. In Harinagar Sugar Mills Ltd. v. Shyam Sundar                 A
Jhunjunwala & Ors., AIR 1961 SC 1669, Hidayatullah, J. (as
His Lordship then was) made a distinction between a "court"
and a "Tribunal" as is explained hereunder:

    " ....... These Tribunals have the authority of law to
                                                                      B
    pronounce upon valuable rights; they act in a judicial
    manner and even on evidence on oath, but they are not
    part of the ordinary Courts of Civil Judicature. They share
    the exercise of the judicial power of the State, but they are
    brought into existence to implement some administrative           C
    policy or to determine controversies arising out of some
    administrative law. They are very similar to Courts, but
    are not Courts. When the Constitution speaks of ' Courts'
    in Art. 136, 227 or 228 or in Arts. 233 to 237 or in the
    Lists, it contemplates Courts of Civil Judicature but not
    Tribunals other than such Courts. This is the reason for          D
    using both the expressions in Arts. 136 and 227. By
    "Courts" is meant Courts of Civil Judicature and by
    "Tribunals", those bodies of men who are appointed to
    decide controversies arising under certain special laws.
    Among the powers of the State is included the power to            E
    decide such controversies. This is undoubtedly one of the
    attributes of the State, and is aptly called the judicial power
    of the State. In the exercise of this power, a clear division
    is thus noticeable. Broadly speaking, certain special
    matters go before Tribunals, and the residue goes before          F
    the ordinary Courts of Civil Judicature."

                                              (Emphasis added)

    To explain the distinction between a Court and Tribunal,
His Lordship further relied upon the judgment in the case of          G
Shell Co. of Australia v. Federal Commissioner of Taxation,
(1931) A.C. 275, wherein it has been observed as under:

    "..... In that connection it may be useful to enumerate some
    negative propositions on this subject: 1. A Tribunal is not       H
    838      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                 [2012] 10 S.C.R.

A        necessarily a Court in this strict sense because it gives a
         final decision. 2. Nor because it hears witnesses on oath.
         3. Nor because two or more contending parties appear
         before it between whom it has to decide. 4. Nor because
         it gives decisions which affect the rights of subjects. 5. Nor
B      · because there is an appeal to a Court. 6. Nor because it
         is a body to which a matter is referred by another
         body ...... "

          12. The present case is also required to be examined in
    the context of Article 227 of the Constitution of India, with
C   specific reference to the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act
    1976, where the expression 'court' stood by itself, and not in
    juxtaposition with the other expression used therein, namely,
    'Tribunal'. The power of the High Court of judicial
    superintendence over the Tribunals, under the amended Article
D   227 stood obliterated. By way of the amendment in the sub-
    article, the words, "and Tribunals" stood deleted and the words
    "subject to its appellate jurisdiction" have been substituted after
    the words, "all courts". In other words, this amendment purports
    to take away the High Court's power of superintendence over
E   Tribunals. Moreover, the High. Court's power has been
    restricted to have judicial superintendence only over judgments
    of inferior courts, i.e. judgments in cases where against the
    same, appeal or revision lies with the High Court. A question
    does arise as regards whether the expression 'courts' as it
F   appears in the amended Article 227, is confined only to the
    regular civil or criminal courts that have been constituted µnder
    the hierarchy of courts and whether all Tribunals have in fact
    been excluded from the purview of the High Court's
    superintendence. Undoubtedly, all courts are Tribunals but all
G   Tribunals are not courts.

         13. The High Court's power of judicial superintendence,
    even under the amended provisions of Article 227 is applicable,
    provided that two conditions are fulfilled; firstly, such Tribunal,
    body or authority must perform judicial functions of rendering
H
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE       839
  TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
definitive judgments having finality, which bind the parties in      A
respect of their rights, in the exercise of the sovereign judicial
power transferred to it by the State, and secondly such Tribunal,
body or authority should be the subject to the High Court's
appellate or revisional jurisdiction.
                                                                     B
     14. In S.P. Sampath Kumar v. Union of India, AIR 1987
SC 346, this Court held that, in the Central Administrative
Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the 'CAT'), the presence of
a judicial member was in fact a requirement of fair procedure
of law, and that the administrative Tribunal must be presided        C
over in such a manner, so as to inspire confidence in the minds
of the people, to the effect that it is highly competent ar1Q an
expert body, with judicial approach and objectivity and, thus,
this Court held that the persons who preside over the CAT,
which is intended to supplant the High Court must have
adequate legal training and experience.                              D

     This Court further _observed that it was desirable that a
high-powered committee, headed by a sitting Judge of the
Supreme Court who has been nominated by the Chief Justice
of India to be its Chairman, should select the persons who           E
preside over the CAT, to ensure the selection of proper and
competent people to the office of trust and help to build up its
reputation and accountability. The Tribunal should consist of one
Judicial Member and one Administrative Member on any Bench.

      15. In L. Chandra Kumar v. Union of India & Ors., AIR          F
1997 SC 1125, this Court held that the power of judicial review
of the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India,
being a basic feature of the Constitution cannot be excluded.
In this context, the Court held:
                                                                     G
    ".... It must not be forgotten that what is permissible to be
    supplanted by another equally effective and efficacious
    institutional mechanism is the High Courts and not the
    judicial review itself....... "
                                                                     H
    840       SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A       The Court further observed that the creation of this Tribunal
  is founded on the premise that, specialised bodies comprising
  of both, well trained administrative members and those with
  judicial experience, would by virtue of their specialised
  knowledge, be better equipped to dispense speedy and
B efficient justice. The contention that the said Tribunal should
  consist only of a judicial member was rejected, and it was held
  that such a direction would attack the primary grounds of the
  theory, pursuant to which such Tribunals were constituted.

       16. In V.K. Majotra & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., AIR
C 2003 SC 3909, this Court reversed the judgment of the
  Allahabad High Court wherein, direction had been issued that
  the Vice-Chairman of the CAT could be only a retired Judge
  of the High Court, i.e., a Judicial Member and that such a post
  could not be held by a Member of the Administrative Service,
D observing that such a direction had put at naught/obliterated
  from the statute book, certain provisions without striking them
  down.

        17-18. A Constitution Bench of this Court in Statesman
E (Private) Ltd. v. H.R. Deb & Ors., AIR 1968 SC 1495,
  examined the provisions of Sections 7(3)(d) and g(1) of the
   lndusirial Disputes Act, 1947, which contain the expression
  'judicial office', and held that a person holds 'judicial office' if
  he is performing judicial functions. The scheme of Chapters V
F and VI of the Constitution deal with judicial office and judicial
  service. Judicial service means a separation of the judiciary
  from the executive in public services. The functions of the labour
  court are of great public importance and are quasi-judicial in
  nature, therefore, a man having experience of the civil side of
G the law is more suitable to preside over it, as compared to a
  person working on the criminal side. Persons employed
  performing multifarious duties and, in addition, performing some
  judicial functions, may not truly fulfil the requirement of the statute.
  Judicial office thus means, a fixed position for the performance
  of duties, which are primarily judicial in nature.
H
   STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                         841
 TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
      19. In Shri Kumar Padma Prasad v. Union of India & Ors.,         A
 (1992) 2 SCC 428, this Court held that the expression, 'judicial
office' in the generic sense, may include a wide variety of
offices which are connected with the administration of justice
 in one way or another. The holder of a judicial office under
Article 217(2)(a), means a person who exercises only judicial          B
 functions, determines cases inter-se parties and renders
decisions in purely judicial capacity. He must belong to the
judicial services which is a class in itself, is free from executive
control, and is disciplined to hold the dignity, integrity and
independence of the judiciary. The Court held that 'judicial           C
office' means a subsisting office with a substantive position,
which has an existence independence from its holder.

     20. The instant case is required to be examined in light of
the aforesaid settled legal propositions.
                                                                       D
      21. The present Writ Petition was filed on the premise, that
the post of the President of the Gujarat Revenue Tribunal was
covered by the expression 'District Judge; as has been defined
under Article 236 of the Constitution, the definition being an
exclusive one, and thus, in view of the provisions of Article 233      E
of the Constitution, the appointment of the President of the
Tribunal can be made only upon consultation with the High
Court. In the alternative it was suggested, that the said Tribunal
is a court and that the post of the President is one of judicial
service, and in view of the provisions of Article 234 of the
                                                                       F
Constitution, the appointment of the President can be made only
upon consultation with the High Court, as well as the Gujarat
Public Services Commission. Even otherwise, having regard
to the functions, powers and duties vested in the President, a
person with legal qualification and long judicial experience           G
should alone be appointed as President. Reference to the
Bombay Legislative Assembly debate dated 18.4.1939, as
expressed by the then Revenue Minister, revealed that the
intention of the legislature had been that the post be filled by a
retired High Court Judge, or a District Judge of not less than
                                                                       H
    842      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A ten years standing. Further, the Tribunal dealing with various
  cases under the Gujarat Agriculture and Land Ceiling Act,
  1961, Gujarat Private Forest Act, Bombay Public Trust Act,
  Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, Bombay Jagirdari
  and Other Tenure Abolition Act, and with questions of title under
B Section 37(2) of the Bombay Land Revenue Court has to deal
  with large number of civil disputes between the citizens, as well
  as between the Government and citizens and, it is pertinent to
  note that at the relevant time of filing of this Writ Petition, 6500
  cases were pending before the Tribunal. With these assertions,
C the prayers made by the writ petitioners were mainly to declare
  Sections 4 and 20 of the Act, 1958 as ultra-vires and
  unconstitutional on the grounds that they gave absolute
  unguided power to the State Government in relation to the
  appointment of the President, and further, to declare Rule 3(1)
  so far as it authorises the appointment of the Secretary, as
D ultra-vires and void, and also to quash the appointment of the
  respondent as the President.

       The State Government contested the case, contending that
  the provisions of Article 236 of the Constitution have no
E application. Further, the Act as well as the Rules provide that
  a person having long standing experience in the area of
  revenue law, and under Rule 3(2) an advocate who is qualified
  to be a Judge of the High Court, is eligible for the post of the
  President of the Tribunal. The Administrative Officer has long
F and vast experience in revenue matters, being posted as
  Special Divisional Magistrate, Collector, Deputy Secretary and
  Secretary dealing with laws pertaining to revenue and was
  hence, competent enough to deal with any subject assigned
  under the said Act and the Rules. Thus, the Secretary to the
G Government of Gujarat was competent/eligible to be selected
  to the post of the President of the Tribunal.

        22. The High Court examined the functions and powers of
    the Tribunal. Section 117KK of the Bombay Land Revenue
    Code provides for reference of certain matters to the Tribunal
H
    STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE       843
  TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. B.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
for its opinion. Section 117L provides that the opinion of the            A
Tribunal, along with settlement report, be laid on the table of
the State Legislature and a copy thereof, be sent to every
Member and the said report is liable to be discussed by way
of a resolution moved in the State Legislature.
                                                                          B
     23. The Tribunal has also been conferred with the power
to adjudicate disputes, which may arise from the provisions of
the Bombay Tenancy and Agricultural Lands Act, 1948. Section
75(1) of the said Act provides that an appeal against the award
of the Collector, made under Section 66 may be filed before
the Tribunal. Sub-section (2) of Section 75, provides that in             C
deciding appeals preferred under sub-section (1), the Tribunal
shall exercise all the powers which a court has and subject to
the regulations framed by the Tribunal under the Act 1957, follow
the same procedure which a court follows in deciding appeals
from the decree or order of an original court under the CPC.              D
Section 76(1) of the Act provides that notwithstanding anything
contained in the Act, 1957, an application for revision may be
made to the Tribunal against any order of the Collector, except
an order under Section 32P, or an order in appeal against an
order under sub-section (4) of Section 32G. Section ?80                   E
provides that all inquiries and proceedings before the Tribunal
shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings within the meaning
of Sections 193, 219 and 228 of the IPC. Section 85 deals with
bar of jurisdiction. It further provides that no Civil Court shall have
the jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with, any question which       F
is by or under this Act, required to be settled, decided or dealt
with, by the Tribunal in appeal or revision. It is also provided in
sub-section (2) of Section 85 that no order of the Tribunal shall
be questioned in any civil or criminal court.
                                                                          G
     24. The Gujarat Agricultural Lands Ceiling Act, 1960, was
enacted to fix a ceiling on holdings of agricultural lands, and to
provide for the acquisition and disposal of surplus agricultural
lands. Chapter VI of the said Act deals with procedure, appeals
and revision. Section 36 provides that any person aggrieved               H
    844      SUPREME COURT REPORTS                   [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A by an award made by the Tribunal under Section 24, or by the
  Collector under Section 28, may appeal to the Tribunal. Sub-
  section (3) of Section 36 provides that in deciding such appeal
  the Tribunal shall exercise all the powers which a Court has
  and follow the same procedure which the Court follows in
B deciding appeals from the decree or order of the original court
  under the CPC. Section 38 provides that notwithstanding
  anything contained in the Act, 1957, an application for revision
  may be made to the Tribunal constituted under the said Act,
  against any order passed by the Collector. Section 47 deals
c with bar of jurisdiction, as it provides that no civil court shall have
  the jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with any question which
  is by or under this Act required to be settled, decided or dealt
  with by the Tribunal. Section 48 provides that all inquiries and
  proceedings before the ?Tribunal shall be deemed to be
  Judicial proceedings', within the meaning of Sections 193, 219
0
  and 228 of the IPC.

          25. The Bombay Public Trust Act, 1950, has been enacted
    to regulate, and to make better provision for the administration
    of public religious and charitable trusts in the State of Bombay,
E   which also extends to the State of Gujarat. 1n exercise of
    powers conferred under Section 84 of the said Act, the
    Government of Bombay has framed the Bombay Public Trusts
    (Gujarat) Rules, 1961. Section 51 of the Act provides for
    consent of the Charity Commissioner for the institution of a suit.
F   Sub-section (2) of Section 51 says that if the Charity
    Commissioner refuses his consent for the institution of a suit
    under sub-section (1) of Section 51, the concerned person may
    file an appeal to the Tribunal. References made to the Tribunal
    have been dealt with in Chapter XI of the Act. Section 71 deals
G   with appeals to the Tribunal, and provides that an appeal to the
    Tribunal under Sub-section (2) of Section 51, against the
    decision of the Charity Commissioner, refusing consent for the
    institution of a suit, shall be filed within 60 days from the date
    of such decision, in such form and shall be accompanied by
H   such fee, as may be prescribed, and that the decision of the
   STATE OF GUJARAT v. GUJARAT REVENUE                          845
 TRIBUNAL BAR ASSOCN. [DR. 8.S. CHAUHAN, J.]
Tribunal shall be final and conclusive. Section 74 provides that        A
all inquiries and appeals shall be deemed to be judicial
proceedings within the meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228
of the IPC. Section 76 provides that, save, in so far as they may
be inconsistent with anything contained in the Act, the
provisions of the CPC will apply to all proceedings before the          8
court under this Act. Section 80 deals with bar of jurisdiction
of civil courts, as it provides that no civil court can deal with any
question which is by, or under the Act, to be decided or dealt
with, by any officer or authority under the Act in respect of which,
the decision or order of such officer or authority has been made        C
final and conclusive.

     26. Section 13(1) of the Act, 1957, provides that in
exercising the jurisdiction conferred upon the Tribunal, the
Tribunal shall have all the powers of a civil court as enumerated
therein and shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes        D
of Sections 195, 480 and 482 of the Cr.P.C., and that its
proceedings shall be deemed to be judicial proceedings, within
the meaning of Sections 193, 219 and 228 of the IPC.

      27. The aforesaid observations made by the High Court,            E
taking into consideration various statutes dealing with not only
the revenue matters, but also covering other subjects, make it
crystal clear that the Tribunal does not deal only with revenue
matters provided under the Schedule I, but has also been
conferred appellatelrevisional powers under various other               F
statutes. Most of those statutes provide that the Tribunal, while
dealing with appeals, references, revisions, would act giving
strict adherence to the procedure prescribed in the CPC, for
deciding a matter as followed by the Civil Court and certain
powers have also been conferred upon it, as provided in the             G
Cr.P.C. and IPC. Thus, we do not have any hesitation in
concurring with the finding recorded by the High Court that the
Tribunal is akin to a court and performs similar functions.

     During the course of arguments before the High Court,
learned Additional Advocate General had conceded that the               H
    846     SUPREME COURT REPORTS                [2012] 10 S.C.R.


A judgments and orders passed by the Tribunal can be
  challenged under Article 227 of the Constitution. Thus, it has
  been conceded before the High Court that the High Court has
  supervi!lory control over the Tribunal, to the extent that it can
  revise and correct the judgments and orders passed by it. In
8 such a fact-situation, the consultation/concurrence of the High
  Court, in the matter of making the appointment of the President
  of the Tribunal is required.

         28. The object of consultation is to render the consultation
    meaningful to serve the intended purpose. It requires the
C   meeting of minds between the parties involved in the process
    of consultation on the basis of material facts and points, to
    evolve a correct or at least satisfactory solution. If the power
    can be exercised only after consultation, consultation must be
    conscious, effective, meaningful and purposeful. It means that
D   the party must disclose all the facts to other party for due
    deliberation. The consultee must express his opinion after full
    consideration of the matter upon the relevant facts and
    quintessence. (Vide: UOI v. Sankalchand Himatlal Sheth, AIR
    1977 SC 2328; Subhash Sharma & Ors. v. UO/, AIR 1991 SC
E   631; Justice K.P Mahapatra v. Sri Ram Chandra Nayak and
    Ors., (2002) 8 SCC 1; Gauhati High Court & Anr. v. Ku/adhar
    Phukan & Anr., AIR 2002 SC 1589; High Court of Judicature
    for Rajasthan v. P.P Singh, AIR 2003 SC 1029; UOI v. Kali
    Dass Batish, AIR 2006 SC 789; and Andhra Bank v. Andhra
F   Bank Officers, AIR 2008 SC 2936).

       29. Thus, it is evident from the above that the procedure
  to be observed under Article 234 of the Constitution goes to
  the extent of the true meaning of consultative process and not
G an empty formality.

         30. In view of the above, we do not see any cogent reason
    to take a view contrary to the view taken by the High Court. The
    appeal lacks merit and is, therefore, accordingly dismissed.

H 8.8.8.                                        Appeal dismissed.